It’s hard to pass up on a good deal. Since 2016, I’ve been on a bit of a buying spree, buying anything I found even mildly interesting so long as it was cheap enough. By my count, I’ve owned a total of about 60 vehicles since then, with most of them eventually getting sold as I find the next thing to get excited about. In recent years, I’ve been having more vehicles come in than leave and I think it’s time to change that. I’m thinning my two dozen-vehicle herd, starting with the projects I just know I’m never going to finish.
Until recently, I could not give an immediate answer to the simple question “how many vehicles do you own?” Seriously, I have a notepad file stored on my phone because it’s easier to whip that out than recall everything by hand. Admittedly, a lot of my vehicles are duplicates, such as my five Smart Fortwos. For the longest time, I felt I was a bit off-kilter by owning multiple of the same car. Then, I learned my numbers aren’t even that high compared to some others. I recently learned of a person with seven Smart Fortwos. Then there’s Valeria Giordano and her eight BMW Z3 Coupes plus Jessieleigh Freeman and her 17 Saturns. Yeah, you read that right. At least Smarts are half-size, so I can hide them in all sorts of nooks and crannies.
This weekend, I added my first American classic to my fleet. I’m excited to get a 1948 Plymouth Special Deluxe running again, but it’s not entering the fleet without other vehicles leaving, and I’m selling off a handful.
Too Far, Too Many
Some readers have expressed concern for my mental health and I thank all of you for the care. I feel like compassion is something sorely missing from much of the world today, so again, thank you.
I’m happy to say that I don’t think I’ve been better off than I am right now. I get to go on all of these awesome adventures around America and soon, I’m going to expand them to the global stage. I have an awesome career, awesome colleagues, a lovely wife, and a setlist of my favorite vehicles right within reach.
However, I think I found my limit.
I think I started discovering this around the time when I sold that Volkswagen Passat TDI wagon that broke down on the poor buyer. Usually, I want to replace a vehicle immediately, but I didn’t want to after selling the Passat. In fact, I felt relief.
I think part of it is the fact that I’m drawn to inherently unreliable cars. I then buy those unreliable cars at the bottom of their depreciation curves after they’ve been used up by 18 or more owners. I also get caught in the heat of the moment and sometimes make bad purchasing decisions. For example, that Passat was a rust bucket with limo tint on the windshield, questionable tuning, and somehow the manual transmission swap was already worn out. But it was the “holy grail” so I put on rosy shades and paid too much for it.
This has happened with more than one purchase. Back in 2022, I got a tad sloshed at a pool party and decided to give a guy $5,000 for a 1985 U-Haul CT13. I then got there and realized that oh god, I made a horrible mistake. The seller didn’t mislead me or anything. I just saw the “holy grail” and bought it first and thought later.
No matter the reason, I’ve ended up taking on projects that I either do not have the time or the skills to complete. As you’re seeing with Handsome Devil/Hollywood David Tracy, we spend a lot of time creating the content you love and the rest of that finite time is left to either spin wrenches or live a life outside of cars. I’m sure as you’ve seen here, it’s hard to find a good balance. A day spent working on a broken camper is a day you didn’t spend going on a date. A day you spend going on a date is time that you could have spent working on your broken car. I can’t pull both levers at the same time.
David and I have been employing mechanics to do jobs we could have done ourselves. The way I see it, time and money are also finite resources and levers you can pull. When I was younger I didn’t have much money, so wrenching was a necessity. Now, I can pay someone else to get their hands dirty while I spend more time with my wife or more time having fun with other vehicles. Nowadays I wrench for the fun of it rather than for survival.
All of this has left me in an interesting spot. I have projects I know I will never complete. Then there are the vehicles that are causing more headaches than they’re worth. Finally, we have vehicles I purchased for specific reasons and just never use. So, it’s time to let some things go.
1985 U-Haul CT13
This was the holy grail of fiberglass campers for me. We had big plans for this camper. It was supposed to be the launch vehicle for an Autopian RV subsite. That site may still happen one day, but the camper project stalled out. Let’s see, the U-Haul camper needed a fiberglass hole patched, two fiberglass cracks fixed, major frame rust fixed, a new jack installed, and the entire electrical system rewired.
The original plan was to turn the camper into a rolling Autopian billboard of sorts. David and I also considered doing a wrench-a-thon to bring the U-Haul up to spec and to revive Jason’s very dead RV. This didn’t happen. Then my poor trailer got into worse shape. The swamp cooler on the roof disintegrated and the floor started getting soft. So, I was basically looking at a total restoration at that point.
I think it’s time I realized that I’m never going to give that camper the care it deserves. So, I listed it for sale. I had it sold two hours later and honestly, I could not have found a better buyer. The buyer was the guy who lived directly across the street from where I stored the U-Haul. Apparently, he’s owned a Casita but considered the U-Haul to be the best vintage fiberglass trailer out there. He’s right.
Anyway, he’s been watching over my camper for two years, hoping one day I’d sell. The buyer told me that neighborhood kids often loved to break into the trailer and they liked hanging out in it. Sadly, the kids never closed the door when they got done, so it rained and snowed inside of my trailer. That explained the weird footprints, stains, and water damage. It also explains why I often found my old school bus with its windows open and the emergency door open. Those same kids kept breaking into my bus, too.
So, not only do I get closure for something that has confused me for a while, but the trailer is going to someone who is legitimately stoked for it. I also got $2,500 out of the deal. That’s a win to me!
2001 Buell Blast
I’m a huge fan of Erik Buell’s failed beginner bike experiment. The Buell Blast is a lovely weirdo powered by half of a Harley-Davidson Sportster engine and has legitimately good ideas baked into its design.
A 2000 Blast was one of my first motorcycles and I loved it so much. So, last year, I bought another as a winter beater. I loved how my new-to-me Blast had 1,600 original miles, its original 23-year-old tires, and came in a poppin’ red color.
However, I’ve been bothered by how it doesn’t fit me like it used to. I’m not sure what happened to my body over the past six years, but the Blast used to fit me well and now it doesn’t. The pegs feel all wrong, as do the bars and the seat. All of that can be fixed, but what can’t be is the fact that I just never want to ride my Blast. It seems as if I like the idea of the Buell Blast more than actually riding it. In fact, I rode my 2023 Zero DSR/X press bike through the winter and the Blast never even left the garage.
As luck would have it, Sheryl does want a motorcycle, so I’m giving it to her.
2001 BMW 525iT
Speaking of Sheryl, we’re also getting rid of the BMW E39 wagon that we bought from the Bishop. This car has been the subject of a number of articles, but none of them are the cause of it getting listed for sale.
The running costs did this car in. Last year, Sheryl loaned her Toyota Prius to a friend in need. There’s a long story there, but the friend refused any of my cars on account of them either being rusty, unreliable, German, small, diesel, or all of the above. Sheryl has the biggest heart of anyone I know, but I had a feeling the whole Prius deal was going to come crashing down, and it did. The under-insured friend wrecked the car in November. Since Sheryl was still the registered owner of the vehicle, her insurance took a huge hit at renewal time last month.
How bad? Her rates doubled per vehicle, and that’s with the cheapest insurer she could find. The BMW was already pricy for her to insure, but now it has become as expensive as a car payment. Yeah, paying what’s more or less a car payment on a $1,500 BMW doesn’t make sense to us, either. So Sheryl’s passing it on with a heavy heart.
2005 Genuine Stella
The Genuine Scooter Company of Chicago used to slap its name on license-built Vespa scooters from LML of India. The Stella was a metal 150cc two-stroke beast with a manual transmission and was available in awesome bright colors.
These scooters are great when they work. The problem is that the Stella is essentially an Italian scooter modified for India and then shipped to America. Stellas are known for electrical issues and for eventually lunching their engines. Mine has a working engine, but it has always suffered from electrical issues.
Funny enough, I’ve stricken the Stella from my vehicle list, but I haven’t actually sold it. Every prospective buyer has flaked on me. So, I gave it to Sheryl to teach her how to wrench on a two-wheeler. She learned a lot and the scooter was instrumental in that, but not even she wants to keep it. Ouch!
I don’t even know what I want for this. A thousand bucks? Trade for an old Honda Gold Wing?
2012 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI
Back in 2020, I realized that there was a cooler wagon out there than the Passat TDI wagon. The Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen TDI is faster, has a far nicer interior, and doesn’t have an automatic transmission known for mimicking the infamous GM 4L60E. In 2020, I bought a Jetta SportWagen TDI with a DSG, then found one with a six-speed manual in 2022.
I don’t want two of these, so I’ve decided to sell the DSG. Unfortunately, this vehicle is caught in a weird legal limbo that I can’t really talk about at the moment. I can’t sell it right now, so it’s just sitting in the garage at my parents’ house. I’ve been maintaining it even though I don’t want it anymore. It runs like a fine watch, which helps me in diagnosing problems with my slightly older six-speed SportWagen.
A part of me also wants to sell the Nova Bus RTS-06 because really, I have no business trying to run a gosh-darned transit bus and I’m lucky something expensive hasn’t failed on me. However, one of my dreams is to one day have a museum like the Crazy ’80s Car Museum with the RTS as a centerpiece, so I’m holding out a little longer for that. On one hand, I know how hard it is to find an unmolested and running RTS. On the other hand, I could save a lot of money by getting rid of it. I think I’ll just play it by ear.
That’s all that’s on the chopping block for now. At the very least, selling all of these vehicles I’m certain I want to get rid of would reduce my personal vehicle count by four. The Plymouth puts me back up one for an overall loss of three. The camper is gone and the Buell is already transferred to Sheryl, so now it’s time to rid myself of the Stella and the Jetta. Sheryl will lose a car, but gain a motorcycle, which will be pretty cool.
Really, I’m just finding myself prioritizing my collection. I want to keep special vehicles like the Volkswagen Touareg V10 TDI, the Honda Beat, the Suzuki Every, and my Smarts. Moving forward, I’m adhering to a personal rule that I cannot add a car unless I sell a car first. I also want to be a bit more selective. By that, I mean no more buying projects I know I’m not going to make any real progress on. The U-Haul was a mistake from the jump, made worse by kids breaking into it.
Either way, getting rid of these problem vehicles has already made me feel a bit more relaxed, so clearly it works. If you take anything away from this story, it’s that I want you to know that it’s okay to let go of things, even things you think are holy grails. As it turns out, some of my holy grails aren’t the grails I thought they were.
Lol I love your justification — “see, I’m not crazy! This other person has an even more extensive collection than I!”
Just joshing you, Mercedes. I’m not saying don’t ever change (it’s the spice of life) but personal evolution is a good thing. But also I’m not sure where else I would ever get my fix of deep dives on niche vehicles that I’ve never even heard of, so please keep that up.
I’d definitely not keep the TDI. Personally I won’t buy a diesel made during or after 97 (mainly for legal reasons as pre-97 diesels are SMOG exempt in places like California).
My 05 E320 CDi has been a tank but again, that’s before all the emissions controls, so I definitely understand. However, the SMOG exemption for CA would definitely make me lean towards older diesels like you have done.
I have my leanings, but haven’t done anything yet. I bounce around what vehicles interest me all the time. Recently I’ve been on an aluminum body and aluminum chassis kick, and unless you like Land Rovers (I don’t) you don’t have a lot of options before the 2000s. Though if I were to get a Land Rover it would be a Series 3 “Lightweight” Dutch Army surplus (Diesel, LHD). While not lightweight it is a bit narrower than a regular series 3.
I’ve spent enough time around Land Rovers to know that it doesn’t matter how simple something is, if it’s made badly it will break, and break often.
Remember, Santana Motors also built a “ligero” model as well for the Spanish military. They’re LHD as well. 🙂
If that Sportwagen were a six speed, I would happily take it off your hands to either run or keep mine going forever. But the weird legal limbo? If it’s what I’m assuming it is, that’s not an issue where I live in Texas, so if you’re having trouble selling it there, I would recommend looking at more ’emmisions friendly’ states
Then, I learned my numbers aren’t even that high compared to some others. I recently learned of a person with seven Smart Fortwos. They are called ” co-dependents”
Sounds like you’re making a lot of good decisions with solid reasoning and little doubt. That’s exactly the right place to be on getting rid of vehicles (and not where I’ve usually been when making similar decisions). I hope your reduced fleet brings you increased joy!
Without knowing literally anything about the details, it feels like the Jetta is an emotional and financial drain. Hope you’re able to see your way to the other side and sell it soon.
Darn, I was hoping that I’d be interested in one, but you’re just selling the problem children. Good luck with the sales.
Congrats! Welcome to democracy in the 90s where they actually were able to bring the national deficit to zero using the same fiscal policies.
Oh how I long for those days.
I always envied your ability to take on truly ambitious projects Mercedes. You have no problem dragging home a bus or two. For me, when I have too much stuff hanging over my head I get truly weighed down by it all, and it paralyzes me. This is why I keep a few motorcycles for wrenching and fun, and don’t collect cars. They are remarkably inexpensive, take up less space, and have a high fun factor. So, about that Buell Blast…
Don’t take any trades. It’ll only end up in another project that either won’t get done or will stop something else from getting done.
How do you not get killed on the transaction costs? At the very least registration and taxes. No safety inspections in Illinois, right?
Nope, except for a biannual powertrain trouble-code scan on 1997s and newer (within Chicagoland and Metro-East). Taxes on used cars are equalized statutorily, so you can’t claim you bought it for $1. Title & tags are a couple of hundred, with tag renewal about $150.
I was under the impression that you had a warehouse or somewhere secure to store your cars and bus and whatnot, but they’re just outside where kids can hang out and smoke weed? You need to move …
I have indoor storage for nearly everything. The exceptions to the rule are the vehicles parked at home (Phaeton, 6spd SportWagen, 530xi wagon), the bus, and the U-Haul camper. Weirdly, the U-Haul was parked at a storage facility 20-ish minutes away from home, so moving wouldn’t have solved the neighborhood kid problem.
The older I get the more I think about what the kids and/or wife are going to inherit when I kick the bucket or become incapacitated. Which is why about a year ago I sat down and identified projects I’ll never get to, projects I really want to do, and those that I just don’t drive anymore. Since then I’ve been working at it from all sides.
On the other hand I’ll be retiring soon and don’t play golf, so I’m not ready to give up all the projects yet. I also figure that I’ll be leaving them enough non-automotive assets that they will be able to afford to hire someone and just point at what they want gone. Plus I’ve cleaned up enough of their messes over the years so the owe me at least one as cheap payback for what they have or will receive.
“A day spent working on a broken camper is a day you didn’t spend going on a date. A day you spend going on a date is time that you could have spent working on your broken car. I can’t pull both levers at the same time.”
If you find someone who is willing to spend a romantic day with you working on a broken car you know you’ve found THE ONE!
Oh we do wrench together! But we don’t really consider that to be a “date.” Sometimes we want to go out and see places and have a nice dinner after, you know?
I thought an Autopian post wedding date night is a trip to the Auto parts store and dinner at Del Taco Bell Bravo.
My best buddy passed 8 years ago. He was down to his last dozen cars, a couple of which could have been daily drivers. They were scattered from the Bay to Sacramento to Lakeport. His widow had to find buyers for them and wound up selling the newer ones to Carvana.
He also had a habit of buying gardening equipment & wrenching tools (and Lionel train stuff). For a fellow who didn’t graduate college, he was always the smartest guy in the room, but he had a weak spot when it came to cars.
He was the epitome of a tee shirt I have that says “He who dies with the most toys, still dies…”
I’m glad to see Sheryl’s BMW going. She deserves something much more reliable.
Even after owning a VW B5 Passat I later went ahead and bought an E36 M3. Sure the performance was good (really, really good) but that is an expensive car to properly maintain. I was also in constant fear of missing the 4 to 5 shift thus generating the 4 to 3 “money shift” which often caused engine damage.
Is the shift from 4 to 5 somehow different in an e36 M ? I’m trying to understand the fear? I’d be more fearful of 4 to 3 when wanting to upshift?
So it seems that the David Tracy gene lives on…
I sold my Genuine Buddy 150 this spring. The registration renewal came in the mail and I realized that I hadn’t ridden it more than 50 miles since the last renewal. And the insurance came due at the same time. Ultimately, it was costing me $3/mile to ride it. Buh bye.
I used to have a Buddy 125! It was great until I got pinched between an NYC bus and a Very Tall Curb, which holed the transmission case or something. Then it got stolen a month later, which may have been for the best.
I have a hard rule now that I never lend cars to people who can’t pay to replace them. It just doesn’t end well. Even if they don’t wreck it, they have a tendency to just keep hanging onto it and then get pissy that I want my car, that I paid money to purchase and maintain, back.
I’ve been doing a little thinning of the fleet recently with 2 already gone and another going in the next week or so.
At this point the wife is still asking what else are you going to get rid off since she believes in that 1 car in, 1 car out thing and seems to believe I’m still behind. My math says I’m ahead including the 3 I got rid of last year.
Having too many cars is just a requirement of working for the autopian, no?
At the least, I feel like there’s a check-box on the job application.
“NUMBER OF CARS OWNED:
[ ]0-4 (these are automatically rejected)
[ ]5-10
[ ]11-15
[ ]16+
[ ]OTHER/IT’S COMPLICATED”
Can I check both 16+ and OTHER/IT’S COMPLICATED?
I think Matt and Pete are the only Autopians without too many cars. 🙂 Maybe Mark, too, I think.
Hardigree may have too few, though I’m sure his wife might disagree.
Should have kept the Forrester and turned it into a Gambler car.
Grail fails wind up as sales.
I’d argue the GM 4L60 isn’t really a bad transmission in any way – they just put them in a billion different models. In an S-10 or an Astro or even a Silverado 1500 they’re fine. In a Escalade EXT or Silverado 2500 yea, they’re gonna blow up.
Probably get $1800+ for that scooter in California
I’d also argue that most of the people complaining about the 4L60, are also the ones overloading them and never changing the fluid or filter.
4th owners putting shoddy lifts/oversized tires and driving them like idiots
Also, yes.
And doing burnouts. Don’t forget the burnouts.
That’s probably why my son got a decent price for his 96 Suburban with the trashed interior and glitter in the engine oil. The 4l60 was in great shape so it sold as a self propelled used transmission.
Sounds about right.
A 1500 is a bit of a stretch for the 4l60. If you never really used it for truckly duties, I think they would hold up great. But a half ton pickup is still a pickup! Suburbans and Tahoes are a touch too big as well. S10’s, S10 Blazers, Astros, etc are all perfect uses for the 4l60.
If you actually follow the recommended maintenance, they’re fine on a 1/2 ton pickup or Suburban. I’ve got 182k miles on the 4L60 in my 1/2 ton Sierra with no slipping or any problems. I’ve changed the fluid and filter four times already (I’ve owned the truck since new).
My dad’s Silverado 1500 has 200k+ miles pulling a camping trailer a few times a year. Transmission has been maintained down to the mile though.
Sometimes letting go is the hardest part of having a car- other times its the easiest. But sounds like you have the right idea, Mercedes!
My wife made a pretty good rule for me regarding projects: any project that makes no discernable progress in a year loses its project status and becomes junk that must be gotten rid of.
It has definitely helped me lose the title of King of Unfinished Projects.